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Preparation

For spiced pears:

Combine first 6 ingredients in large saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Add pears and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until pears are just tender when pierced with knife, about 35 minutes. Transfer liquid with pears to large bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.

Combine white chocolate, pear brandy, and 1/4 cup water in top of double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth (mixture will be very liquidy). Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; discard bean. Transfer white chocolate mixture to large bowl; gradually add mascarpone, whisking until mixture is smooth. Cool mascarpone mixture until barely lukewarm.

Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture in 4 additions. Cover and chill white chocolate mousse until set, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Pears and mousse can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Arrange ladyfingers, rounded sides down, in single layer in bottom of 12-cup trifle dish (about 8 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep), covering bottom completely (using about 15 ladyfingers). Drizzle 5 tablespoons pear syrup evenly over ladyfingers. Using small offset spatula, spread 1/3 of white chocolate mousse over ladyfingers, making layer slightly thicker around outer edges of dish to allow mousse to be more visible (center of mousse layer will be thin). Starting at outer edges of dish, place pear slices in single layer with curved edges against sides of dish atop mousse, covering completely. Repeat layering of ladyfingers, syrup, mousse, and pears 2 more times. Cover with fourth layer of ladyfingers (some ladyfingers and pear slices may be left over). Drizzle ladyfingers evenly with 5 tablespoons syrup. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate trifle and remaining pear syrup separately.

Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup pear syrup and beat until stiff peaks form. Working in batches, transfer cream to large pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe rosettes all over top of trifle, mounding slightly in center. Sprinkle with crystallized ginger. Garnish with chocolate curls. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated.

Sift powdered sugar over trifle just before serving.

* Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese; sold at many supermarkets and at Italian markets.

** Available in the bakery or bread section of some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

TEST-KITCHEN TIP:

To make chocolate curls, place one 3 1/2-ounce bar of high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina) on a plate and microwave on high at 5-second intervals just until slightly softened, but not hot or beginning to melt. Using vegetable peeler and starting at one long edge of the chocolate bar, shave white chocolate into curls. If the shaved chocolate breaks into small shards, it's not soft enough, so place in microwave again for a few seconds. If the chocolate becomes too soft, let it stand at room temperature or chill briefly until it firms up a bit.

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Recent Reviews

Too pretty to eat! My trifle dish was 9-1/2 inches in diameter, and I used up everything except 3 ladyfingers. As other reviewers recommended, I let the mascarpone warm to room temperature and let the white chocolate cool, and I gently folded them together (which took awhile) and had no problems with graininess. My pears were poached in 25 minutes, so start checking them early. I used lots of chocolate curls, finely diced crystallized ginger, and silver dragees because everything is better with silver dragees!

renee_ozer from Colorado Springs, CO /

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I have made this for Christmas and New Year several times and each time it turns out perfectly. I haven't yet had a guest that didn't love it and request it for the following year. It is a bit time consuming but I knew that going into it and prepared for it. I always follow the recipe exactly. My pears always turn out beautiful and with just the right amount of spiciness. If you cook the brandy correctly and add the correct amount called for in the recipe it won't taste boozy at all. I think some people refuse to follow a recipe and then get frustrated when it doesn't turn out how they think it should.

ceharrell from Bloomington, IN /

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I'll start by saying I'm generally more of a fan of rich/chocolate desserts, and not into creamy things, so that is part of my issue with this, but I definitely think it was not worth it! While it looked very pretty, it was extremely costly ($90 for ingredients, at least $45 of which were used in total) and really not that tasty. All the guests at the party were impressed with the appearance, and all said that they enjoyed the taste, but no one raved, because honestly, it wasn't rave worthy.

kinkaju2 from Washington DC /

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I make this almost annually at holiday time; always gets raves.

SLH4 from Minneapolis, MN /

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Yes, this is a long
process to prepare
and I am still on
the fence about it.
My mousse must have
been overwhipped
since it got
grainy,too. But how
to incorporate the
mascarpone
otherwise?
ANY IDEAS?
The pears themselves
and their syrup were
quite divine. I plan
on making them for
Christmas dinner
served with whipped
cream sweetened with
the syrup and sprinkled with toasted sliced almonds.